About this title: In a suburban town, Sarah betrays her unsatisfactory husband by having an affair with Todd, whose wife is having her own qualms about their marriage. Todd's friend Larry is an ex-cop with a violent streak that surfaces when a convicted sex offender moves into the neighborhood. In a departure from his cheerful earlier novels, Tom Perrotta writes ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780312315719ISBN:0312315716
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Tight, square binding, no markings. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
"Tom Perrotta's novel, "Little Children", might well be entitled, "Parents", for it focuses on the lives of several married couples living the suburban lifestyle. The title could very well refer to the immature actions and decisons of these people and the tenuous bonds which they have formed in their marriages.Indeed, the children are loved, but the story that unfolds tells of adultery, pornography, and often many failures to acheive any realistic goals in thier lives. To complicate matters, a convicted child molester has taken up residence in their town, where he is the object of everyone's wrath, sometimes violence and their own frustrations in life. Perrotta has written this novel with wry humor, sharp insights into character development and often compelling reading.The book unexpectedly concludes with suspenseful events."
"I really liked this novel--intelligently constructed, defined characters, realistic resolution. I did not, however, enjoy the story. I think there was too much going on--the sex offender, while definitely a part of the story, was more an afterthought. The same could be said for Larry Moon--his existence is so tertiary, you have to wonder if he wasn't created solely to torment Ronnie McGorvey.
The true meat of this tale is the love affair between Sarah and Todd, with less emphasis on the happy ending and more on the imperfect perfections in suburban neighborhoods. The sanctimonious soccer moms, the husband with a panty-huffing addiction, the overbearing wife, and play-date lifestyle portrayal each offer a palpable view of the secrets of suburban life.
Overall, I really liked this book. My major complaint is that the ending is disjointed, seemingly unrelated save for sharing the same characters as the rest of the story. If those characters present in this final scene are actually making some sort of attempt at personal growth, the fulfillment of that is lost on me, especially given the animosity that ran rampant among these sets of individuals throughout the rest of the story.
Some reflections on the title: at first, because I knew there was a sex offender character, I thought this was going to be a differently dark tale, more The Lovely Bones-ish, if you will. Instead, the title seems to refer more to each character's child-like or childish quality. With Sarah, she practices self-greed. With Todd, he doesn't wanna do what he's told (pass the bar exam, get a real job, etc.). Larry Moon thinks he can beat up the bad guy and save the neighborhood, and the play-ground set (those pesky soccer moms) are too busy trying to be better than each other to realize they're poisoning their lives. Perrotta delivers an adequate portrayal of the modern human, tapping into the unsaid and the unknown beliefs and misgivings of us all."
"Another good book from Tom Perrotta. I've read all his books--- just bought his "Bad Haircut" and am looking forward to reading it now. The cast of characters in "Little Children" are people that we all have known--- but we were not clever enough to write a book about them! Perrotta is a great observer of the human condition and depicted these have-it-all suburbanites and their lives perfectly in this satire. Every one is dissatisfied and is looking for a way out of their current situation.....they have all seemingly arrived at the current time in their lives by following the paths of least resistance or by accident, or both. They all seem to take the easy way out, as though they have no moral choice.
The characters are self-important and self-absorbed and let the reader know that they are doing the most important job in the world, bringing up children. I happen to agree that this is the most important job, but there is a right way and an obnoxious way to make this point.
Despite the way he skewers his characters, you can tell that Perrotta is really fond of them, and he manages to get the reader to take an unbiased look at even the one who deserves our consideration in the least. To do this requires a delicate balancing act, one that Perrotta seems to have mastered."
"I liked the movie. It was clever, amusing, and touching. Bought the book after I found out that the movie was made after it. I'm glad I did. As often is the case - the book is better than the movie, in all aspects - and the plot, though quite close, is not identical to that of the movie. Easy to read, clever, funny, sexy. Worth every penny of the $ 2 it costs."
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